April 27, 2008

Your Projectionist is much more than just a beginning Esperantist flying solo… he's also an otaku, which means he is a big fan of Japanese culture, including pop culture. So hopefully you won't mind it if the popular gravure idol Yuko Ogura introduces you to the wake–up experience that is Japanese candy maker Lotte's best–known chewing gum, Black Black:

A pity it has sugar among its ingredients. Your Projectionist is also a Type 2 Diabetic. Geku.

Planning to visit Europe on May 1st? EuroMayDay will be waiting for you!

From their official website:

The EuroMayDay network, a web of media activists, labor organizers, migrant collectives convening each year in a different European city. Last mayday assembly was in Berlin, where it was agreed that these would be the demands surrounding the protests for EuroMayDay 008:

full legalization for all persecuted migrants

self–organizing and unionizing rights freed from state repression

unconditional basic income

a european [sic] living wage

free access to culture, knowledge, and skills

the right to cheap housing

Sounds like something good to us. Wish we could have that kind of platform over here.

Enjoy what follows, starting with the general announcement:

and proceed to this short dance number (in Spanish):

Then there are these two interlinked pieces from Germany (the soundtrack is the same, but the videos were made from "alternate angles," as you might find on certain DVDs):

I am writing this while the fate of Newsday — the Long Island, New York newspaper currently owned by Tribune — is being decided amongst a few rich folks who want our belovéd tabloid for their own little "trophy rooms."

Among those showing the most cash is Rupert Murdoch, as in Australia's News Corporation. (They will always be an Aussie conglomerate to me.) As in the New York Post, Dow Jones (The Wall Street Journal, Barron's), HarperCollins, DirecTV, and everything 20th Century–Fox.

Which leads to our feature attraction.

Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films has been closely monitoring what comes out of the Fox News Channel ever since their Outfoxed feature a few years ago. Consequently, they've caught on to practically every little trick Fox has pulled, and as shown below, they've connected the dots on the results of the recent Pennsylvania primary contest between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Mme. Clinton won the primary, and guess who comes out singing praises to Fox for it?

Try Terry McAuliffe, who was once the chairman of the Democratic National Committee:

April 26, 2008

If anyone in the United States could be designated a Goddess of Music, Cyoakha Grace would be the one. The sheer range of influences she and her chief band — Land of the Blind — have absorbed over the years would guarantee that, after an evening of their music, you'd never want to travel abroad again.

Bonus: Go over to the Blind's website for details on their latest CD release, entitled Shamans of Sound. Be sure to listen to the MP3 sampler of tracks from the album. If you hear someone chanting in Esperanto, it's your friendly neighborhood Projectionist.

Robert Greenwald's feisty enterprise known as Brave New Films and AlterNet jointly offer this morning's breakfast special:

Humble (creme) pie. To go. To New York Times essayist Thomas Friedman, who came to Brown University to say why "Green is the new Red, White, and Blue."

As you will see below, the Greenwash Guerillas — who made this shaky short, and who have issues with Mr. Friedman's issues — didn't even let him get started.

Attendees also saw this on leaflets thrown at them:

"Thomas Friedman deserves a pie in the face…

Because of his sickeningly cheery applaud for free market capitalism's conquest of the planet.

For telling the world that the free market and techno fixes can save us from climate change. From carbon trading to biofuels, these distractions are dangerous in and of themselves, while encouraging inaction with respect to the true problems at hand.

For helping turn environmentalism into a fake plastic consumer product for the privileged.

For his long-standing support for the US Occupation of Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Such committed support to the US War Ma'hine and its proxy states overseas cannot be masked behind any twisted mask of 'green' — the US Military is the largest single emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.

For his pure arrogance.

On behalf of the earth and all true environmentalists — we, the Greenwash Guerrillas, declare Thomas Friedman's 'Green' as fake and toxic to human and planetary health as the cool–whip [sic] covering his face."

April 24, 2008

For our friends from far away: Ron Paul is the current "dark horse" running for President of the United States. He has no "official" party affiliation, and he has not pleased everyone along the political spectrum.

That said, I will admit one thing, with apologies to David Bowie. Even if Paul is no DJ, this video clearly show that he's got believers (in his campaign) believing him:

But can he walk on water, or feed the multitude with one loaf of bread and two fishes?

April 23, 2008

Another great site we love is Boing Boing — probably because of all of the crazed video they offer on a regular basis. That should be enough to make you bookmark their site, but tonight one BBTV serving made me sit up and take notice.

We have Japan Probe to thank for scarfing this TV piece (no network identified, but definitely one of the commercial ones) about a bicycle parking garage that recently opened at Tokyo Metro Tozai Line's Kasai Station.

Pay close attention to how one very special feature of this garage works — and how quickly you can retrieve your bike. (Within 23 seconds.)

You're just in time for the features at the Whack–a–Flick Multiplex — your single stop for all sorts of coming streaming attractions.

We'll have it all here … Comedy! Adventure! Suspense! Occasional Sobering Moments! Imports from Esperantoland! And don't forget those come–ons for upcoming events and all sorts of synthetic edibles! Smeg–ups! Religious nuts and the pachyderms who love 'em! More musical variety than you'd find on a bleedin' Clear Channel station!

And new attractions added almost every day.

And… it's all absolutely free! (We knew you'd like that, right?)

So get your snacks and drinks together and find those seats, folks! The house lights are dimming, and you're just in time. Do enjoy the show!